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Thank you all, appreciate all the feedback, truly. I like some of the areas mentioned - north and west and connections there - friends and interests.
I suppose I have been looking more south and east - Otsego and Delaware counties, thinking they are farther from the snow belts (for driving issues) but near the Catskills for hiking, skiing etc and close to NYC for visits.
Also, closer to Albany airport (is that the most robust (# of daily flights) airport in upstate NY?) and closer to Amtrak. I guess Albany and Syracuse would be about the same distance from Oneonta, for example.
Thanks again.
PS - out of curiosity, is Chenango County the "poorest" county in all of NY?
I think the Adirondak Counties of Hamilton, Franklin, and Essex along with the western New York counties of Allegany and Cattaraugus are generally considered the poorest counties in the state.
What you see a lot of in Upstate, particularly with the counties that have large areas (1000+ square miles), is that one or two towns/villages/cities are fairly prosperous while the rest of the county is pretty poor. For example, in my county, Chautauqua, the Dunkirk/Fredonia area (in the NW corner) is fairly prosperous because it has the Thruway connection to Buffalo and Erie, Pa so commuting for jobs is possible. It also has Fredonia State College. At the other end of the county (SE corner) is Jamestown, which still retains enough of an industrial/business base to be a significant job and retail center. The rest of the county tends to be generally poor, with lots of old folks and lots of poor people who struggle to get by on minimum wage work if they can find it. Most of the "prosperous" people either work for the local school districts, the county government, or commute into Jamestown or Dunkirk/Fredonia.
I think the Adirondak Counties of Hamilton, Franklin, and Essex along with the western New York counties of Allegany and Cattaraugus are generally considered the poorest counties in the state.
What you see a lot of in Upstate, particularly with the counties that have large areas (1000+ square miles), is that one or two towns/villages/cities are fairly prosperous while the rest of the county is pretty poor. For example, in my county, Chautauqua, the Dunkirk/Fredonia area (in the NW corner) is fairly prosperous because it has the Thruway connection to Buffalo and Erie, Pa so commuting for jobs is possible. It also has Fredonia State College. At the other end of the county (SE corner) is Jamestown, which still retains enough of an industrial/business base to be a significant job and retail center. The rest of the county tends to be generally poor, with lots of old folks and lots of poor people who struggle to get by on minimum wage work if they can find it. Most of the "prosperous" people either work for the local school districts, the county government, or commute into Jamestown or Dunkirk/Fredonia.
I've heard that some may commute to Erie PA for work as well.
I've heard that some may commute to Erie PA for work as well.
Yes. There's a small number that commute from Jamestown (about 50 miles), but many more from Sherman and west. I think Findlay Lake is about 15 miles from suburban Erie. Westfield is pretty close, too, and right on I-90.
Thank you all, appreciate all the feedback, truly. I like some of the areas mentioned - north and west and connections there - friends and interests.
I suppose I have been looking more south and east - Otsego and Delaware counties, thinking they are farther from the snow belts (for driving issues) but near the Catskills for hiking, skiing etc and close to NYC for visits.
Also, closer to Albany airport (is that the most robust (# of daily flights) airport in upstate NY?) and closer to Amtrak. I guess Albany and Syracuse would be about the same distance from Oneonta, for example.
Thanks again.
PS - out of curiosity, is Chenango County the "poorest" county in all of NY?
Keep in mind that the snowbelt is around the Great Lakes. So, the further away the town is, the less lake effect.
Yes, Clinton is charming - now on the search list, thanks.
Whenever I am driving around Central NY, I see an interesting mix of people and industries. I see people who were born in the area and will never leave. I see lots of older people. I see poverty and blight - in the country side and in the small cities (Utica, for example). I see refurbished Victorians turned into bed and breakfasts by people fleeing large cities. I see boutique/organic food and beverage suppliers, to me is a relatively new phenomenon.
I see jobs that were NOT there when I was growing up - more publicly funded jobs - prison facilities, college facilities, lots of positions related to helping the disabled, (is this a growth area in CNY?)
What I don't see as much of now are the private industry jobs: factories, warehouses, office buildings.
Yes, Clinton is charming - now on the search list, thanks.
Whenever I am driving around Central NY, I see an interesting mix of people and industries. I see people who were born in the area and will never leave. I see lots of older people. I see poverty and blight - in the country side and in the small cities (Utica, for example). I see refurbished Victorians turned into bed and breakfasts by people fleeing large cities. I see boutique/organic food and beverage suppliers, to me is a relatively new phenomenon.
I see jobs that were NOT there when I was growing up - more publicly funded jobs - prison facilities, college facilities, lots of positions related to helping the disabled, (is this a growth area in CNY?)
What I don't see as much of now are the private industry jobs: factories, warehouses, office buildings.
There are private industry jobs like the ones in your last sentence, but you don't have as many of the large factories like in the past. There are quite a few healthcare positions and you have some tech companies. Insurance/risk management is a pretty big industry in the region as well.
You do have an increase in immigrants to the bigger cities and ironically, Utica actually had a population increase between 2000-2010.
I think the organic food thing depends on where you are in the region. Certain parts like Syracuse and Ithaca have stores that aren't in say Utica or Rome or they are pretty new to different parts of the region.
PS - out of curiosity, is Chenango County the "poorest" county in all of NY?
Actually Bronx is from what I can see, with Chautauqua next to the bottom, and Allegany, Franklin, and St. Lawrence rounding out the bottom five. Chenango is in the lower half though: ahead of Steuben and Kings, just behind Broome and Chemung.
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